> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/nvaccess/nvda/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Roadmap and Priorities

> Understanding NVDA's development priorities and future direction

NVDA follows a structured development process that balances innovation with stability. While there isn't a detailed public roadmap with specific features and dates, understanding NVDA's release cycle and priority system helps you know what to expect.

## Development Philosophy

<Card icon="compass">
  NVDA development is guided by the [Product Vision](/community/product-vision) and 16 guiding principles that prioritize accessibility, stability, and user needs.
</Card>

Key aspects of NVDA's development approach:

* **User-driven**: Features are prioritized based on user needs and community feedback
* **Frequency-based releases**: Releases occur on a schedule of roughly 3-4 months rather than targeting specific calendar dates
* **Community contributions**: Open source model allows community members to contribute features
* **API stability**: Breaking changes are limited to once per year (in .1 releases)

## Release Cycle

NVDA follows a predictable release cycle with four major releases per year:

### Release Schedule

<Steps>
  <Step title="Alpha Phase (~7 weeks)">
    Active development of new features. The add-on API is unstable during this phase. Add-ons should use the "dev" channel.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Beta Phase (~4 weeks)">
    Feature freeze - focus shifts to testing and refinement. Beta releases occur weekly. Translations and add-on API become relatively stable. Add-ons can use "dev" or "beta" channels.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Release Candidate Phase (~3 weeks)">
    Translation freeze for 2 weeks, followed by release candidate builds. The add-on API is stable. Add-ons can use the "stable" channel.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Final Release">
    Stable release after one week of no reported issues with the release candidate.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  The first release each year (20XX.1) may take slightly longer due to API breaking changes being managed during that cycle.
</Info>

## How Features Are Prioritized

Feature prioritization is based on several factors:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="User Impact" icon="users">
    Features that benefit a significant proportion of users or are essential for a subset of users
  </Card>

  <Card title="Alignment with Vision" icon="bullseye">
    How well the feature aligns with NVDA's guiding principles
  </Card>

  <Card title="Technical Feasibility" icon="code">
    Available development resources and technical complexity
  </Card>

  <Card title="OS Changes" icon="windows">
    Critical changes needed to support Windows updates
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

### GitHub Milestones

If priority should be given to an issue for inclusion in a specific release, its milestone is set to the appropriate release milestone (e.g., 2026.2).

<Card title="View Current Milestones" icon="milestone" href="https://github.com/nvaccess/nvda/milestones">
  See what's planned for upcoming releases on GitHub
</Card>

## What Gets Into Each Release

### Regular Releases (20XX.2, 20XX.3, 20XX.4)

* New features and enhancements
* Bug fixes
* Compatibility updates
* Performance improvements
* **No breaking API changes**

### .1 Releases (20XX.1)

<Warning>
  **Compatibility Breaking Release**

  The first release of each year may include:

  * Breaking API changes for add-ons
  * Deprecated feature removals
  * Major architectural changes
  * Support for new major Windows versions
  * Minimum Windows version changes
</Warning>

Add-on developers need to update their add-ons for these releases.

### Patch Releases (20XX.X.1)

Under rare circumstances, patch releases are made from the RC branch:

* Only for critical crashes
* Security vulnerabilities
* Major issues that significantly impact usability

## Current Focus Areas

Based on recent releases, ongoing focus areas include:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Modern Windows Support" icon="windows">
    Ensuring NVDA works seamlessly with the latest Windows features and applications, including Windows 11 enhancements, modern UI frameworks (WinUI 3), and system integration.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Web Browser Accessibility" icon="browser">
    Improving support for complex web applications in Chrome, Edge, and Firefox, including better handling of dynamic content and modern web standards.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Braille Support" icon="braille">
    Enhancing braille display support, adding new device drivers, and improving braille output quality and performance.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Speech Improvements" icon="volume">
    Expanding speech synthesizer support, improving responsiveness, and adding features like automatic language switching and rate boost.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Remote Access" icon="network-wired">
    Improving the built-in remote access feature for supporting users and collaborating remotely.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Add-on Ecosystem" icon="puzzle-piece">
    Enhancing the Add-on Store, improving automatic updates, and maintaining a stable API for developers.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## How to Influence the Roadmap

While NV Access makes final decisions about priorities, the community has significant influence:

### 1. Submit Feature Requests

<Card title="Submit a Feature Request" icon="lightbulb" href="https://github.com/nvaccess/nvda/issues/new?template=2-feature_request.yaml">
  Well-documented feature requests help NV Access understand user needs
</Card>

### 2. Contribute Code

<Card title="Contributing Guide" icon="code" href="https://github.com/nvaccess/nvda/blob/master/projectDocs/dev/contributing.md">
  Developers can implement features and submit pull requests
</Card>

### 3. Participate in Discussions

<Card title="GitHub Discussions" icon="comments" href="https://github.com/nvaccess/nvda/discussions">
  Share ideas and discuss features with the community
</Card>

### 4. Test Early Builds

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Alpha Snapshots" icon="flask" href="https://download.nvaccess.org/snapshots/alpha/">
    Test cutting-edge features
  </Card>

  <Card title="Beta Releases" icon="vial">
    Help stabilize upcoming releases
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Long-term Direction

While specific features aren't announced far in advance, NVDA's long-term direction focuses on:

* Keeping pace with Windows evolution
* Improving performance and efficiency
* Expanding multimodal support (speech, braille, touch)
* Enhancing compatibility with modern applications
* Strengthening security and privacy
* Maintaining free availability for all users

<Info>
  For the most up-to-date information about upcoming features, monitor the [GitHub repository](https://github.com/nvaccess/nvda), subscribe to release announcements, and participate in the [developer mailing list](/community/mailing-lists).
</Info>

## Deprecated and Removed Features

NVDA periodically removes support for outdated technologies:

* Features are deprecated well in advance (typically one year before removal)
* Deprecation notices appear in the [changelog](/community/changelog)
* Users are given time to transition to alternatives
* Decisions are documented with clear rationale

<Card title="View Changelog" icon="list" href="/community/changelog">
  See what's changing in each release
</Card>